Solid start for Aecon

Canada’s Aecon Group has had a ‘solid start to the year’ with adjusted EBITDA back in the black at CA$ 3.1 million (US$ 2.86 million) for the first quarter of the year compared with an adjusted EBITDA loss of CA$ 11.3 million (US$ 10.4 million) in Q1 2013.

However, revenue dropped to CA$ 462 million (US$ 427 million) in the first quarter of 2014 compared to revenue of CA$ 567 million (US$ 524 million) in the same period of 2013. Aecon said its lower revenue resulted primarily from decreases in the mining and infrastructure segments.

"Our focus on execution is yielding results and Aecon's first quarter represents a solid start to the year. We anticipate that revenue and therefore profits will be even more weighted to the second half of 2014 than is usually the case due to the ramp up of significant new projects currently underway," said John M. Beck, chairman and CEO, Aecon Group Inc.

The contractor announced an increased backlog of CA$ 2.2 billion (US$ 2 billion) as at March 31, 2014, up from CA$ 1.8 billion (US$ 1.66 billion) at December 31, 2013. New contracts in the first quarter of 2014 totalled CA$ 867 million (US$ 800 million) compared to CA$ 212 million (US$ 195 million) in the first quarter of 2013.

Major projects booked in the first quarter included the John Hart Generating Station in British Columbia: a joint venture of Aecon (60%) and SNC-Lavalin Constructors Pacific Inc. (40%) for the civil construction scope, with Aecon's portion of the contract representing CA$ 225 million (US$ 208 million); and Waterloo Region Light Rapid Transit: a joint venture partnership of Aecon (51%) and Kiewit (49%), with a backlog value to Aecon's account of approximately CA$ 250 million (US$ 230 million).